Better defensive ammo: .223 JHP or 5.56 NATO green tip?

This is a discussion on Better defensive ammo: .223 JHP or 5.56 NATO green tip? within the Defensive Ammunition & Ballistics forums, part of the Defensive Carry Discussions category; Edit: I should have changed title to just 5.56 NATO, not with the "green tip", but whatever.
Also, does the nato cross mean that the ...

Loaded question depends on the weapon it is fired from. The barrel twist, the range and the round it's self. ready for a lot of good reading here you go no pulling punches just the facts. And you will still have question because with the AR/M4 .223/5.56 there are just so many variables .
So grab a pot of coffee a couple aspirin and readThe AR15.com Ammo Oracle

I did not vote the question can not be addressed in that manner.
Break in to my place and if I get to the AR then you will be shot with a .223 or a 5.56 green red or any one of a few others what ever I grab first you will be just as dead.

I agree with Cuda66. JHP would be the better choice for home defense as it has less over penetration possibilities. The green tip (steel core penetrator) will be better if needing to shoot through armor, glass, or other obstructions. So the question is not as simple as black and white.

I didn't vote, but I would say that the NATO round was better because it is cheaper and therefore you can have a lot more rounds to shoot at bad guys. If you are in that shooting mode, I don't think you would be worrying about overpenetration. If you are in a defensive condition with that type of weapon, it's all out SHTF.

As a DEFENSIVE round, the JHP would be a better choice, as it will be less likely to give a through-and-through wound and be dangerous to anyone beyond your target.

This is not, necessarily, true. 5.56/.223 rounds historically do not rely on expansion as their primary wounding agent. They rely on yaw (the rotation of the bullet into it's "natural" state of being - tail first) and fragmentation (the round "spinning itself apart" as it yaws through a dense medium, like flesh). If the round "properly" yaws and fragments, there is almost no chance of dangerous over-penetration. Additionally, a round that strikes something other than the target and is sufficiently destabilized loses energy very quickly, relative (or course) to its current energy and momentum. A heavy, stable JHP would therefore (at least theoretically) be more of a post-impact threat than would a lighter, "less stable" FMJ.

These rounds do not operate like handgun rounds do, and the "conventional wisdom" of handgun rounds cannot be applied. Read the ammo oracle link, and the literature on the modern self-defense (Hornady TAP, et al) to see how these rounds actually operate.

A man fires a rifle for many years, and he goes to war. And afterward he turns the rifle in at the armory, and he believes he's finished with the rifle. But no matter what else he might do with his hands - love a woman, build a house, change his son's diaper - his hands remember the rifle.

Indeed we aren't, Smitty. In many cases, the 5.56/.223 has much LESS chance of dangerous over penetration or "going through walls" than does 9mm, .40S&W, etc. That the 5.56 is inherently more dangerous in over penetration or "miss" scenarios is a long standing (and intuitive) myth. But a myth none the less.

A man fires a rifle for many years, and he goes to war. And afterward he turns the rifle in at the armory, and he believes he's finished with the rifle. But no matter what else he might do with his hands - love a woman, build a house, change his son's diaper - his hands remember the rifle.

This is not, necessarily, true. 5.56/.223 rounds historically do not rely on expansion as their primary wounding agent. They rely on yaw (the rotation of the bullet into it's "natural" state of being - tail first) and fragmentation (the round "spinning itself apart" as it yaws through a dense medium, like flesh). If the round "properly" yaws and fragments, there is almost no chance of dangerous over-penetration. Additionally, a round that strikes something other than the target and is sufficiently destabilized loses energy very quickly, relative (or course) to its current energy and momentum. A heavy, stable JHP would therefore (at least theoretically) be more of a post-impact threat than would a lighter, "less stable" FMJ.

These rounds do not operate like handgun rounds do, and the "conventional wisdom" of handgun rounds cannot be applied. Read the ammo oracle link, and the literature on the modern self-defense (Hornady TAP, et al) to see how these rounds actually operate.

You saved me a lot of tying. I have been around the .223/5.56 thing for many years JHP in a .223 or 5.56 are about worthless. That said at what distance would you really be using an AR/M4 plat form weapon for HD. I betting never more than 50 meters. At 50 meters you can hit the target with any thing.
I really encourage those that want facts to read this, while there is always a bit of wiggle room on this subject it covers it very well with facts.The AR15.com Ammo Oracle

You saved me a lot of tying. I have been around the .223/5.56 thing for many years JHP in a .223 or 5.56 are about worthless. That said at what distance would you really be using an AR/M4 plat form weapon for HD. I betting never more than 50 meters. At 50 meters you can hit the target with any thing.
I really encourage those that want facts to read this, while there is always a bit of wiggle room on this subject it covers it very well with facts.The AR15.com Ammo Oracle

Thanks for the link, I learned mire about this ammo in one reading than i have in years.

Okay. Thanks for all the great insight. I'm not talking about close-range home defense though. I'm talking about maybe 50-100 yards (or more)--just theoretically. Like, if I shoot a water jug with a 5.56, it goes right though. If I shoot a JHP .223 at it, it explodes. Just wondering if this is a good comparison to a defensive situation.